Over the past week, the wrestling community has come together to celebrate the life and memory of Jay Briscoe, who passed away tragically in a car accident. Ring of Honor released a tribute shirt with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Briscoe family, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated to his family's GiveSendGo fundraiser, and wrestlers from every company, from AEW to WWE, have paid tribute with their in-ring attire, move sets and even backstage interviews.
Though neither man was personally close to Briscoe, prolific podcast/mortgage broker Conrad Thompson and his What Happened When podcast co-host Tony Schiavone commented on the passing of the first ballot ROH Hall of Famer and let it be known that Tony Khan, the owner of Ring of Honor and AEW, would make sure to care for Jay's family even if he isn't particularly vocal about it outwardly.
“I don't mean to betray any confidences, but let me say this. There is lots of rumors and innuendo from really good sources that Tony Khan is who we thought he was and he's going to do the right thing by that family as well,” Thompson said via Fightful. “I don't think he would necessarily want anybody to know that information, and I know it's not your [Tony Schiavone] place to talk about it, but I will say that for all the criticism that gets thrown around ‘Tony this, Tony that.' When the chips are down, he's a dude.”
Schiavone agreed with Thompson, pointing out that, while Khan can be a demanding boss, he is someone who genuinely cares about professional wrestling and the people who work for him, and if you, random online wrestling fan, don't like that? Well, you can f right the heck off.
“Tony is very demanding of a boss, and it makes, at times, the week very difficult, but wrestling has always been difficult,” Shiavone added. “There's never been ease. Tony can be very demanding, as a boss can be, but because he's such a great person and such a genuine person and loves the wrestling business and takes care of his people, it's worth it working for him. It's worth the stress that we go through getting the show on, because of the person that he is. I know a lot of people give Tony a hard time, but the people who give Tony a hard time online are, as human beings, not worth a f*ck.”
“But the people who give Tony a hard time online are, as human beings, not worth a f*ck?” Jeez Schiavone, why don't you tell these non-fans how you really feel? With a Jay Briscoe tribute show already in the can for future Ring of Honor programming and a plan to honor the fallen 16-time ROH champion at SuperCard of Honor later this year, it's safe to say Khan isn't going forget about The Briscoes on or off the screen any time soon.
Tony Schiavone further clarifies his connection to Jay Briscoe.
Elsewhere on What Happened When, Schiavone commented on how he found out about Jay's death and how it affected him personally.
“Jeff Jones and I were driving to Fresno, and when Jeff got the call — Jeff is very close to the family,” Schiavone said via Wrestling Inc. “So, we kind of like were the first to find out 'cause his mom called Jeff Jones. It really obviously knocked the wind out of our sails. Jeff more than me because Jeff was very close to them, and I'd only known Mark and Jay for not that long.”
While Schiavone didn't work with the Briscoes much, he was in attendance at the Ring of Honor x New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Supercard and remembered watching the tag team light it up against Guerrillas of Destiny, Villain Enterprises, and Los Ingobernables de Japón at Madison Square Garden.
“I remember watching them thinking, ‘Man, these guys, Dem Boys, as they came to know, can really, really go and get it.' They were an unbelievable tag team.”
For those who would like to watch Schiavone call a Briscoes match, you are in luck, as The Brsicoes actually wrestled The Von Erichs, Marshall von Erich, and Ross von Erich of MLW at Ric Flair's Last Match. It wasn't the best showing by either party, as Dave Meltzer only gave it a 2.25 star, but hey, it sure is fun to hear the long-time voice of Jim Crockett promotions in a mock-up Jim Crockett promotion set call a match featuring Mark and Jay – an honor he was never afforded in AEW due to Warner Bros. Discovery.
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